Zeus Jones at Web 2.0 Expo

Zeus Jones. Marketing in a Web 2.0 world. Presented at the Web 2.0 Expo via Yugma Stage 2. A virtual platform for companies to showcase their ideas at the Web 2.0 Expo using Yugma software. © Zeus Jones 2007

Fifteen minutes of practical marketing advice. • Marketing in the Web 2.0 world. Using the tools of Web 2.0. • Best practices and lessons we learned from launching our company. © Zeus Jones 2007

But first, who is © Zeus Jones 2007 Not one person, actually five. Zeus Jones?

We have a shared vision for the future of marketing. We believe we can move marketing from something people try to ignore to something they value, appreciate and actually enjoy. © Zeus Jones 2007

For that to happen, we need to rethink marketing. • An opportunity to do things for people, not an excuse to say things to people. © Zeus Jones 2007

Our central belief: actions speak louder than words. It’s something we see from the world’s most innovative companies. It’s something we learned from our previous work at Fallon Worldwide. © Zeus Jones 2007

BMW Films. We gave people the world’s first branded desktop video channel. © Zeus Jones 2007

TED Launch. We launched an airline by inventing a new member of the community: Ted. He sent people flowers, bought them coffee and paid for their pizza. © Zeus Jones 2007

Buddy Lee. We created an entirely new brand for teenagers by resuscitating a dusty old icon from the archives. © Zeus Jones 2007

Nordstrom Silverscreen. We created a new way to shop by combining fashion, music and shopping for Nordstrom customers, who love fashion, music and shopping. © Zeus Jones 2007

MSN “ESP Billy.” We launched video messaging by creating an interactive sitcom that ran inside the messaging application. © Zeus Jones 2007

Travelers In-Synch Challenge. We created an interactive experience to help interest people in managing and mitigating risk in their lives. © Zeus Jones 2007

Consistently we found these actions far outperformed any words we could have created. At the start of the year we decided to focus entirely on innovation. On March 1, we launched our company around that single offering. © Zeus Jones 2007

Our first task: Launch a new marketing company through actions rather than words. PR, propaganda, typical websites and typical marketing are clearly out. © Zeus Jones 2007

Our launch had to be an action or series of actions. Our first action: choose a name that demonstrates our belief around brands. © Zeus Jones 2007

We believe that interesting brands, like interesting people, should be multi-dimensional. Our icons today have many sides to them; we admire them because they are multi-dimensional. To be held in the same regard, brands should behave the same way. © Zeus Jones 2007

Zeus Jones. A mashup that means mashup The extraordinary and the everyday. The powerful and the practical. The creative and the down-to-earth. The classic and the modern. Our logo is a mashup too. © Zeus Jones 2007

It also has another benefit, It sounds like a person’s name. Which enabled us to behave like a modern, multi-dimensional person. So we started doing what modern, multi-dimensional people do. In a variety of places around the web. © Zeus Jones 2007

We created a theme song. And shared it on MP3.com and Garageband.com (It’s been downloaded more than 300 times) © Zeus Jones 2007

We created desktop art. And shared it via deviantArt. (It’s been viewed 200 times and downloaded almost 30 times) © Zeus Jones 2007

We created a Linkedin profile. With the partners as Zeus Jones’ past experience. © Zeus Jones 2007

We created a YouTube channel. And used it to host case studies of our past work. © Zeus Jones 2007

We blogged about our beliefs on business and brands. With posts designed specifically for crowded RSS reader consumption. © Zeus Jones 2007

We created a ringtone. And used a simple, free service to make it accessible. © Zeus Jones 2007

We listed our goals on 43 Things. Which also happen to be the values of our company. © Zeus Jones 2007

We contributed to sampling/DJ culture. By uploading free music loops to the Creative Commons sharing site ccMixter. © Zeus Jones 2007

We blogged about cooking. Sharing original recipes and ideas. © Zeus Jones 2007

Zeus Jones has multiple identities. We asked people to imagine what he looks like. Using an online Mii editor. Then we created a Flickr set to display all the submissions. © Zeus Jones 2007

We immersed ourselves in the world’s largest virtual universe. Zeus Jones, Level 47 Blood Elf Paladin. Guild: Fist of the Bunny © Zeus Jones 2007

We listed 43 Places we want to visit. Places where moments of great innovation happened. Places that also display our values and beliefs. © Zeus Jones 2007

We entered a sewing competition. We submitted an acupuncture ear to the softies awards. © Zeus Jones 2007

We commented on blogs that cover subjects we care deeply about. Not just on marketing, but on things like robots, cars, and cycling. © Zeus Jones 2007

We made a prediction on Longbets.org We bet $50 on our belief in the future. That we’re entering a period, the new renaissance, where multi- dimensionality will be an asset. © Zeus Jones 2007

In short, we participated in and contributed content to a diverse number of different communities. Allowing us to communicate our beliefs, values and point of differentiation without resorting to the typical propaganda that accompanies most new marketing company launches. But there were greater benefits than simply what we communicated... © Zeus Jones 2007

Our actions gave us the content to create a differentiated website. Instead of rhetoric we have widgets that tell you everything you need to know. Instead of costly, time-consuming development, we have modules that are constantly updated, and which allowed us to build a site in 2 days. © Zeus Jones 2007

These widgets also have a life of their own. • Because they link to content that we have created, they’re able to be shared, re- posted, remixed and re-broadcast to a whole new set of people than we originally intended. © Zeus Jones 2007

It’s not easy to keep track of everywhere that Zeus Jones content goes so we help people on our site. Searching this term on March 4, 2007 yielded 43 hits Searching this term as of April 18, 2007 returned 11,700 hits © Zeus Jones 2007

Web 2.0 is the gift that keeps giving. • Using Web 2.0 tools and thinking to market ourselves created collateral benefits. • It lowered our development time. • It reduced our marketing costs. • It expanded our reach. • It has created assets which continue to promote us without any further input. • And it has also greatly added to how much we are able to communicate. © Zeus Jones 2007

Our actions have enabled us to have a richer conversation with our audience. • We’ve demonstrated our passion for and understanding of technology. • We’ve demonstrated our understanding of online communities. • We’ve demonstrated our understanding of marketing and branding in the new world. • We’ve shown that we know how an idea can gain traction without the need for traditional advertising or marketing. • We’ve demonstrated we’re different without having to say it. • And, we’ve done it on a startup budget: for next to nothing. © Zeus Jones 2007

The presentation you’re viewing is another action. The content from this presentation will be made available for download. With any luck it will have a life of its own and reach more people in a recorded form than we reached live. © Zeus Jones 2007

And, in another peculiar twist, this presentation was also an example of the work we do for clients. • Had you viewed this live, you would have participated in Stage 2. A Yugma event we created for them to bring traffic to their booth at Web 2.0 Expo. • A “second stage” within their booth for companies to present their wares live to Expo attendees using, and demonstrating Yugma’s collaboration service. • An action that created value for Yugma and its customers, that has grown Yugma’s visibility and interest, and that has helped them create a differentiation from their competition. • Stage 2 also stands to become an enduring asset that Yugma can use in the future. © Zeus Jones 2007

Thanks for your time. • We hope you’ve got a better understanding of how Web 2.0 can impact traditional marketing thinking and execution. • And that actions do speak louder than words in the Web 2.0 world. © Zeus Jones 2007

Zeus Jones at Web 2.0 Expo

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